Customer Reviews

Highland Honor

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Seven years ago, Nigel Murray left his beloved Scotland to become a mercenary, offering his sword and fighting skills to any French lord who pays the most. But when he wakes up one morning to find himself sprawled in the mud, having spent all night boozing with no recollection of how he got there, he knew it was time for him to go home and face reality. While deep in thoughts, he hears voices and checks to see whom they belong to. He spots two people deep in conversation but knew instantly that the one dressed like a lad is a woman.

Gisele Deveau is a hunted woman. Falsely accused of the gruesome death of her wealthy husband, she has been running away for a whole year. When Nigel ends up saving her life, she knows that he is her only refuge for many of her own family have turned away from her and has even decried her a murderess.

Realizing that Gisele's life is in extreme danger, Nigel is overcome with the need to protect her, especially when he learns that she is pretty much on her own. And although she fears men in general having suffered pain and humiliation from the hands of her husband, Gisele knows she has no choice but to trust the man who has entangled himself in her troubles.

Little do they know that they would be faced with another trouble: that of their growing attraction to each other. Nigel is torn and confused about what he feels worried that he is still holding out for a dream in Gisele's form who is the living embodiment of Maldie, with her dark curls and green eyes so much like the woman whose ghost he has clung to for years. Gisele, on the other hand, is fearful to put her trust in another man after what she has been through before.

In this second book of the Highland Series featuring the Murray brothers, we learn of what happened to Nigel since he left Donncoill after losing Maldie to his brother Balfour. It was a little sad to read about how he has immersed himself in drinking and womanizing in an attempt to ease his heartache so it was good to finally see him find happiness in the arms of Gisele.

Just like the first book, HIGHLAND HONOR is full of adventure and passion. Gisele is a likable heroine, very similar to Maldie but with a sharper tongue. Both characters are strong and well-matched and as passionate as the first book's characters. I must say though that I found some parts dragged a bit, especially while they travelled back to Scotland. But I enjoyed the homecoming scene and was happy to see the old characters from HIGHLAND DESTINY.

I'm a new reader of Hannah Howell's books and I couldn't be happier!

This is the second book of the Murrary brother's Trilogy. Highland Destiny is the first and Highland Promise is the third.

Nigel Murray saw through her masquerade from the first: a young woman trying to pass herself off as a page. It almost worked - until she was unmasked in battle with the English, at the point of a sword. Recklessly Nigel saved the raven haired beauty whose secrets now endangered them both. He spirited her off to Scotland, determined to erase the terror he tasted in her kiss.

Gisele knew the dark side of men, having barely escaped the brutality of her highborn husband, Lord Deveau. Now, with Deveau murdered and a price on her head, she was every man's prey - hunted for a crime she did not commit. Nigel is her only refuge, a handsome stranger who challenged her with a fiery sensuality that burned all fear in it's wake. But to truly trust him, Gisele must put the past behind her, and let her heart accept the simple truth . . . of his undying love.

This was such a fun and enjoyable read for me! The complete trilogy is wonderful!

Having read all four of the "Highland" series, this and the first stand out as the best. When reading a series, it's often easy to mix characters up from one book to the next because they are usually so similar but I found Nigel and Gisele unique and interesting. I liked the coming home scenes because it allows the characters to not take themselves too seriously.

This was my first Hannah Howell novel and it will not be my last!
This book had everything I look for in a romance story. The stroy was orginal and well written. Gisele had been accused of killing her husband and while on the run she encounters a Sir Nigel Murray. She reluctantly accepts his help. While the are eluding the men who want to capture and or kill her Nigel helps Gisele heal the emotional wounds that her cruel husband had inflicted on her.

Gisele had suffered but her sprit was still strong. She was smart and brave. She suffered greatly but I think that it made her an even more endearing heroine.

Nigel was brave, smart and a true hero. Although he questioned his motives for helping Gisele(I won't give his worries away) He was always honorable towards Gisele and constanly risked his life to save her.

I can't wait to read more of the Highland series.

Sensuality rating 3.5 out of 5.

Sorry for the long review. Normally my reviews are not at all this long, but after reading several of Hannah Howell Highlander books, and continuously end up very disappointed, I thought it only fair to give a good detailed review. This book was a complete DISHONOR and DISERVICE to reader intelligence for the following reasons:
**> it was EXTREMELY repetitive and an utterly mundane storyline and character dialog;
readers are constantly reminded chapter after chapter that the heroine is not a complete beauty but petite with dark black curls, light eyes, dressed as a page boy and is running away from a bounty posed on her head by her sadistically crazed and more powerful than king-like dead husband's family (the Duveau or Deveaux because the author kept misspelling the family name in EVERY chapter) for his heinous crime of castration. How the heroine managed to stay hidden for over a year when everywhere she stopped villagers noticed she was really a woman, is far beyond me. Furthermore, the author kept reminding us of the brutal tortures and rape the heroine faced during her marital years and thus a very good reason that her husband was dead regardless of whether or not she committed the crime was extremely trite.

**> The plot and storyline lacked much needed suspense and drama; the protagonists of the story came across as extremely flat;
We were constantly reminded over and over again how this very cute and petite heroine was sharp tongued and always a step ahead of herself and others throughout the story. Throughout the story the author would narrate insight felt by the protagonists only to be followed by dialog by the other character to just downright stating affirmations and outguessing one another's reason for a certain action- why give the insight and internal feelings, I have no idea. Also, the protagonists spend almost the entire book running away from the Duveau family (identified by their special crest and colors) all throughout France, and the heroine AGAIN finds herself in rape situation with her dead husband's cousin, who looks identical to said dead husband. I don't understand the author's point in making these cousins exactly alike and both suffering from the same sadistically crazed syndrome.

**> This was NOT a believable romance that defies all obstacles and odds;
although the heroine is mentally scarred for having endured such a violent marriage she completely gives herself to the knight and hero only after having met him and being on the run with him for one week. Granted he sounds like the epiphany of all males, but the heroine claims that she expects absolutely nothing from him and he claims that he wants to teach her that intimacies are not violent and that he will stir the amazingly passionate woman that she is inside- Yeah right. The knight is compelling enough to self proclaim as the heroine's protector by his code of honor. Much later we find out that the reason why he's been in France for seven long years is due to the fact that he declared his undying love to his brother's wife back home in Scotland (the whole family knew, including all of his brothers), but said sister-in-law did not harbor those romantic feelings. Furthermore, the brother's wife is once again the exact spitting image of the heroine he is now involving himself with. Why the author again states that characters are almost identical in both image and personality to one another is far beyond me; no point driven here. In this case, one can only conclude that the hero truly never got over his one true love and just found a replacement, and hence the problem within this romance.

**> The ending was totally UNREALISTIC;
the author informs us along the way that the heroine is falling in love with her knight. The knight does not let the heroine know that the woman and reason he left his homeland over seven years ago is her spitting image and when the two women come face to face with one another and in front of his brothers and family members, the heroine immediately storms off feeling used. The hero's reason for this delay was that he wanted to see them side by side in order to test his feelings for both women - PA_LEASE! The entire family is floored and wide-open mouthed upon looking at these two women side-by-side with their uncanny resemblance and here is where the author expects us to swallow and believe that at that epitome of a moment, the hero has realized that he has no feelings nor ever had any feelings for his brother's wife. Then why publicly declare your feelings for your brother's wife and when said feelings are unrequited, you take off to another country and are gone for SEVEN YEARS! The hero woos and courts the heroine endlessly and one night she compels herself to leave the safety and stronghold of the Scottish demesne and wants to head back to France to clear her name. Then why were you running and hiding for over one year lady? She stupidly places herself in danger again and is almost caught in a rape situation AGAIN until her hero rides in to the rescue with the king's pardon for the crime she never committed and was successfully attainable by the very same family that negated to aid her during the year she was on the run and in hiding. The hero takes her back to the village inn in which she spent the night of her departure and makes passionate love to her and finally says the famous three letter words in an all around about kind of way on the very last page of the book. The heroine even supplies the lame excuse why her hero was so confused about his feelings and was living in a dream. And then, I totally wanted to throw this book against the window and barf at it.

Hannah Howell is EXTREMELY overrated and overpriced. An over extensive use of "ye," "lass," "verra weel," and "bonny" does not constitute a truly successful highland romance. The only good thing within a Hannah Howell book are her handsome male front cover figures and a very good back cover description via lots of editing. Hannah Howell is definitely off the shelf for good for me.

Some parts were slow and boring. It got to be annoying after a while since she tried to take matters into her own hands which only made the situation worse! I don't know what's with these "heroines" not following instructions and doing what they want and not what they're told especially when they don't have any survival skills. I can understand being strong willed and determined but this was ridiculous. No way would some "wee lass" be able to swing a sword! This I found unrealistic especially in the century she was supposed to be writing about. The sword probably weighed more than she did! I gave it an ok rating since I didn't HATE it I just thought the story could have been a little better and not so much speculative thinking on Giseles part which ran rampant throughout the book. How many times was she going to have to escape Nigel's protection and have him rescue her before she figured out her ideas weren't working? She should have had her guilty conscience about bringing him danger way before she accepted his help!

I guess I'll read the last book in the series only because I spent money on it as I can't imagine it's going to be miraculously better than the first two! After this, I will cease reading any more Hannah Howel stories.

There are a few things that I find, that although the writing is good, the story is lacking . . .

1. I find it hard to believe that Gisele had been as abused as she was, especially when Nigel decides to seduce her and she is overcome. Perhaps someone who has been scarred would be more resistant and not as easy. I was hoping for a more realistic approach. Gisele, despite having only been with her husband, and given the era that they live, is quite able to understand fully her trauma and is quite confident that she will conquer it. The whole psychology is completely off and I didn't believe this character for a second.

2. What bothered me the most was that love scenes were basically the main focus, as though the danger they were in was an afterthought. More scenes ended with Nigel telling Gisele to sleep after their lovemaking than I could tolerate.

3. The story drags, with reiteration after reiteration of thoughts and feelings these characters were going through that it was exhausting. Perhaps if more scenes of danger or conflict took place, it could be an interesting read.

4. The ending was anticlimactic. After their grand journey from France to Scotland, I would hope for a more powerful resolution to the conflict. Yet, this book left me feeling as though I could find better reading at a fan fiction site - and truth to tell, I've read better.

Nigel Murray just broke my heart in the previous book when he left. I was excited to see him in this one. Although he's sunk pretty low in the last seven years...literally in the muck. Classic to Howell a fiery, bonny, wee lass pulls him from the depths of drunkenness despair. Having a purpose and serving someone done horribly wrong is what this knight needed all along. However, the spirited Gisele is his true mate will he d figure it out in time before she experiences the ultimate betrayal from him.

This is a excellent story and I would recommend it to anyone who loves to read.
The seller sent this order swiftly. It arrived in great shape. Teresa N.C.

I love all Hannah Howell books and if you like good stories with romance thrown in, her books are ones to read.